So this book has over 4K reads. Wow. Thank you guys so much, and enjoy this sad thing I wrote.
Jack silently crept in the apartment he lived in with his wife. It was after midnight, and he was hoping Katherine had already gone to bed, and had just assumed that he had been hanging out late with the boys, one of the most common excuses he'd given her lately. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case. Katherine was sitting in an armchair, looking very tired, and Jack could tell she was unsuccessfully trying to mask the hurt in her eyes.
"Oh, hey Ace. Uh, what are you doing up?" He asked her nonchalantly. It turned out, trying to say anything was a bad idea.
"Don't you dare." Katherine's tone was low and almost calm, if it wasn't for the slight tremor in her voice.
"Katherine..." He tried again, but trailed off as he noticed the look she was giving him.
"Don't you dare even try to explain yourself. You don't have the right. In fact, don't say anything until I'm done." Jack nodded slowly. "Do you think I don't know what you've been doing? For the past three months, you've been coming home late, telling me that you've spending more time with the boys, or that Medda wanted you to paint a backdrop and it took longer than expected. You must think I'm stupid. But I'm not. I know where you've really been. You've been cheating on me, haven't you?" Jack's silence was all the confirmation she needed. "How could you?"
"Katherine... I've just been under a lot of stress lately, and - "
"And you needed all of those other girls to help you relieve stress? I couldn't do that for you?"
"No, you could, and you did, but I needed more." Katherine stared at her like she'd just been struck. The silence was deafening, and lasted a good minute.
"You needed more?" Jack nodded. "Well, I'm sorry I wasn't good enough for you."
"Yeah. Me too."
"Get out." So he did.
oOo
Jack missed his wife already. He could have been laying next to Katherine in bed, holding her close to him. Instead he was out, wandering through the streets of New York. He had no idea where to go. So, he just started walking, and eventually found himself stopped in front of a brothel. He hadn't been to one in years. But now, he needed it. He needed to forget himself for an hour or two. Or, more likely, the whole night. So that's what he did. He left his guilt and stress at the door, and walked in.
oOo
Katherine didn't know what she was feeling. She could've described her feelings as sad, angry, disappointed, or disgusted, or all of the above. She wanted him back. She wanted Jack, but not the one that just walked out of their apartment. She wanted the old Jack. Her Jack. She wanted the Jack who came home at a reasonable hour, smelling like newspaper ink and charcoal. The Jack who she could talk to about anything, who never kept secrets from her. Not the one who cheated, and lied, and barely ever talked to her anymore. Which is why she didn't regret kicking him out. But she still wanted her Jack. And she couldn't have him, because he was gone. Probably forever. So she did the only thing she could think to do. She crawled into bed, and attempted to hold back her sobs.
